The term session beer is amusing. Lower ABV beer is one of the few drinks that an experienced drinker can consume almost indefinitely at a leisurely pace. To refer to this period as a session strikes of a seriousness that seems incompatible with the activity.

On a side note, somebody who lives in an area where 7-Eleven's sell beer has to purchase their new private label beer and compose a review. The article I read about it this morning indicates that it retails for approximately $7/12 pack.

you've never had a serious drinking session?

Sorta. I good example of what isn't a session beer is something like a fruit beer or a chocolate stout. Yeah I can have one or two but after that the taste just is sort of off putting. Like you just can't eat a whole chocolate cake in one sitting right? Same thing with one of these beers. It doesn't matter what the ABV is I just can't drink that many without being grossed out by more. But give me a good IPA and I can pound that all night.

perfect explanation, imo.

For example.. my wife brought home a Harpoon mixed case.. it had the IPA, the UFO, the Celtic red and chocolate stout. I had just finished a UFO and she walked by and asked if I wanted a refill.. I said "sure, anything but, the chocolate". I could drink those UFO's or ales all night but, the chocolate one has a heavier taste and I wouldnt want to drink more than one or two at a time.

I loved the first Hop Wallop Ive ever had, but ever since then its been a big disappointment. Ive probably tried 3-4 since that first one and they all tasted exactly like you described above. Makes me wonder if I'm misremembering how good the first one is.

One thing Ive discovered about Hop Wallop is that the "enjoy by" date is an entire year after bottling. Ridiculous for a DIPA IMO.

gonna dump some pics and ratings from beers i've had this week... (aka look at all the cool **** i got to drink this week)

Mikkeller Hoppy Easter. Pretty hard to find super smooth tasty IPA. Crisp citrus flavor.

4.5/5



Deschutes Jubel 2010. Wasn't impressed. It's like a way less flavorful version of Stone Arrogant Bastard. Subdued flat flavor, but the flavor there was good.

3.5/5



Founder's Kentucky Breakfast Stout. What can i say? this stuff is amazing. take a legendary smooth complex big stout and age it in bourbon barrels and you get a ridiculously good beer.

5/5

Avery Brewing "Maharaja Imperial IPA"... Dust Bowl Brewing "Hops of Wrath IPA" (this is a new, local, 2 man army brewery)... Green Flash Brewing Co "Imperial IPA"... Ninkasi Brewing Co's "Tricerahops Double IPA" & "Total Domination IPA"

Obv I'm an IPA whore...

pdoran10, where did you find the Mikkeller Hoppy Easter? That's been one of those Holy Grail beers for me the past few months.

from what i understand some of our good beer liquor stores in the minneapolis area got a decent sized shipment of this early last week. not sure about elsewhere in the country.

Loving the stuff from Upright Brewing (from Portland, I believe). They make 5 or 6 (!) different kinds of Saison's. Crazy stuff.

My favourite so far is the Flora Rustica. Absolutely stunning. Their Oyster Stout is supposed to be pretty amazing as well.

I just got my hands on a bottle of "Black OPS" Russian Imperial Stout from Brooklyn Brewing. Had anybody had it? I think I'm going to do a side by side with a bottle of North Coast's Rasputian Anniversary Russian Imperial.

Very nice.
I am looking forward to getting my hands on a few bottles of this years KBS.
Founders impresses me with almost everything they do.

Picked this up yesterday at Party Town in Kentucky



The growler is Dreadnaught. I couldnt believe they had it and it was only $17!

We had two kegs of the KBS on draft where I work. They sold pretty well. Good beer for sure.

I really wish I liked beer, wtf is wrong with me.

At lunch yesterday I had a Stone Smoked Porter on draft with a bacon cheeseburger. It was def*ckinglicious.

Just picked up a sixer of Ale Asylum's Bedlam. It is a Trappist style IPA. Apparently it was just released 2 weeks ago and is limited to 1000 cases. I really liked their regular IPA so I'm looking forward to this one.

Since I took my first crack at brewing the other weekend, much more work then I had expected, I took a few photos so maybe I'll do a TR if anyone is interested.

But its got me interested in snatching up a little collection of beers to let age in my basement. Anyone have some recommendations on what to age, style, or even a particular one? Ive read that anything low alcohol content or really hoppy, arent good for aging...Here are a few I am going to get first.

Ommegang- Three Philosophers

DFA- 120 Min

Bell's- Kalamazoo Stout and Expedition Stout

Stone- Imperial Russian Stout

So about a month ago, a friend of mine gave me a copy of this book:

Farmhouse Ales: Culture and Craftsmanship in the Belgian Tradition by Phil Markowski, head brewmaster of the Southampton Publick House on Long Island.


The book is about Bière de Gardes & Saisons, and I've really been on a kick of drinking them lately, in particular the Bière de Gardes.

I picked up a few different ones over the last couple of weeks, here's a few thoughts on 'em...

First up, what I'm drinking right now: Brasserie Dupont's Avril


Self-described as a "bière de table" this low-gravity, blonde ale comes across as Saison DuPont's lighter, more-refreshing little brother. I had it with Indian Food tonight and it was a great match, but I probably won't drink this one on a regular basis. Definitely worth a try though.

Next up, the one I'm hoping to get to in a little while, is Jenlain's Biere de Printemps.


My new favorite, it's a little unorthodox due to its pale gold color (Bière de Gardes tend to be amber) but still sports an airy texture, slightly floral aroma and a hoppy accent. Basically a Spring-time version of Duyck's standard-bearing Ambrée French Farmhouse Ale, this was the only one of theirs I could find locally. I'm hoarding these with plans to drink 'em well into summer.

I also grabbed a six-pack of Southampton Biere De Mars about a week ago.


Southampton beers are still a mystery to me. Down here, I've enjoyed their Double White Ale in bottles, but not on tap, which I found to be too sour for my liking. Their Altbier is fine in bottles too, but the draft I tried was buttery, a sign of Diacetyl infection. I had the same experience with Biere de Mars on draft recently as well. I complained to the guy who gave me the book and he asked me to give it another shot, so I decided to go the bottle route, which was definitely better. I found it to be a lot like a Belgian Pale Ale - very drinkable with a tiny sour twist at the finish. They go down easy and I'm hoping to get another draft before it's gone.

I grabbed one 12-ouncer of Flying Dog Garde Dog.


Another easy-drinking amber ale, I think it had a little more character than Southampton's, but I can't be sure since my only bottle went fast! I know a place nearby that got a keg and I'm gonna get in on it this week. I'll report back soon.

Honorable mention to Ommegang Bière de Mars, which I tried before reading my book, but really enjoyed. BTW, their new Belgian Pale Ale tastes shockingly like the beer I made at St. Somewhere in January.

And the one that made me interested in this style in the first place: St. Amand French Country Ale

would be cool to see some pics from your first brewing. my sister and i are planning on brewing for the first time some time in the next few months.

as far as aging goes, what ive basically heard is that most 8-9% or more ABv beers that don't rely mostly on hops for their flavor are good for aging. i just started a cellar a few months ago and have barleywine, imperial porter, and some imperial stouts aging so far.

the only decent article ive seen about aging is on beeradvocate and its not super specific or in depth on what styles age well.

markusgc - have you tried boulevard's saison - brett?

If not I highly recommend it. by far my favorite saison to date. One saison I'm not a big fan of is saison dupont even though its supposedly like the standard saisons are measured by. maybe i got a bad bottle though.

also your second pictured beer looks awesome im gonna have to seek that out.

Recently found me a bottle of Avery Brewing Co "Maharaja IIPA," (batch #11, brewing March 2010), cracked it open and shared with a friend of mine.... had to share the goodness... what a freggin' treat this was. It rides in at 10.5% but is really smooth, easy and quite dangerous. I was really pleased, as I always am with beers from Avery. Get your hands on one.

Thought I'd throw a few pics of my brew setup. It's a Brutus 10, stainless steel, system. Recently decided to add a few things to the keggles, adding a RIMS system and adding some fermentation gear to dial that in and have more consistency with the yeast turning sugars into alcohol. Also adding two March pumps, have one, need to order another. It's a work in progress, but anyway, here are a few quick pics.

I'll post a few photos tomorrow, but ToTheFelt has me blown out of the water with that set up....Mine is bush league compared to his.

Just arrived from Minnesota!

Old Stock Ale by North Coast brewing is one of my favorite, easy to find, beers for aging. It's a little hot for me new, but give it ~2 years and it's a divine beer. I can't speak for the midwest, but I know this is easily available on both coasts.